Preview & Full Details: India vs South Africa, 1st Test in Kolkata

The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host its first Test match in 6 years, when Team India take on South Africa starting 14 November. The second Test of the two-match series will be played in Guwahati from 22 November. 

The last Test at Eden Gardens was played before the pandemic, when captain Virat Kohli scored 136 off 194 balls to lead India to an innings victory over Bangladesh. That match was also India’s first-ever pink-ball Test. Only Ravindra Jadeja from that playing XI remains in the current Indian squad. 

India and South Africa last met in a Test at Eden Gardens in 2010, when a five-wicket haul by Harbhajan Singh helped India level the series after trailing 0-1. The match is also remembered for Hashim Amla’s twin hundreds (114 & 123 not out) in a losing cause.

Apart from the venue’s history, India come into the series having been white-washed 3-0 at home by New Zealand last year. India will be wary and may prepare rank turners at both the venues, Kolkata and Guwahati. Meanwhile, South Africa have a good chance of a series win in India as the Indian side transitions post the departures of their long-standing members like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.

In the overall head-to-head, South Africa have won 18 Tests to India’s 16, with 10 matches drawn. In the last 5 head to head Tests between these two sides, South Africa have won 3 matches and India have won 2 matches.

Team India Team News:

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has returned to India’s Test squad, replacing N Jagadeesan from the squad that faced West Indies. Fast-bowler Akash Deep replaces Prasidh Krishna from the same squad. Pant had missed the West Indies series due to a foot fracture sustained during the Manchester Test in July. Akash Deep returned from a back injury and has played two Ranji Trophy rounds for Bengal. Fast-bowler Mohammed Shami, despite 15 wickets in the first three rounds of the Ranji Trophy for Bengal, was not selected. 

Shubman Gill and KL Rahul will lead the batting. Gill has averaged 65.33 in his last 9 matches for India with 980 runs. Rahul has averaged over 50 in his last 10 matches, scoring 857 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored 1,021 runs in his last 23 innings.

Dhruv Jurel has made a strong case for selection as a non-keeping middle-order batter. He has played 7 Tests, out of which he featured in 6 games during Pant’s absence. After averaging 47.34 in 25 first-class games before 15 September, he then scored 140, 1, 56, 125, 44, 6*, 132* and 127* in the next 5 first-class games. His average has jumped to 58.00. 

Reverse swing will play a key role at the venue. Siraj has taken 44 wickets in his last 10 matches while Bumrah has 41 in his last 9 games. Spin duties will be handled by Kuldeep, Jadeja and Axar on a rank turner.

Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep

South Africa Team News:

Temba Bavuma returns as captain for the first time since their 2025 WTC triumph. Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada join him and become key members of the visiting side.

Wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, known as the Proteas’ best spin player, will look to make an impact. It remains unclear how Wiaan Mulder fits into South Africa’s plans, as he has done everything from opening the bowling to batting at any position from No. 3 to 8 and has even stood in as captain. He has scored 715 runs in the last 7 matches, averaging a mammoth 89.38.

South Africa’s batting will depend highly on Bavuma who averages 67.33 in the last 5 matches scoring 606 runs. The team will further be bolstered by Aiden Markram’s return, touted as their generational talent by many former and current cricketers.

Young players Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs face the task of proving their status as next-gen players. But it appears only one of them will start the first Test. 

8 of South Africa’s squad have never played a Test in India before. 3 others have very limited experience. Batter Zubayr Hamza and spinner Senuran Muthusamy toured India in 2019 and Simon Harmer in 2015. Hamza has averaged 42.09 in red-ball cricket on A-tours to India.

Squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Dewald Brevis, Zubayr Hamza, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Simon Harmer